THE BIBLICAL ROLE OF THE WIFE IN A MARRIAGE

1 Corinthians 11:8–10 (KJV 1900)

King James Version (Chapter 11)

8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. 9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. 10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.

THE BIBLICAL ROLE OF THE WIFE IN A MARRIAGE

This sermon will help people

understand what God’s role for

women should be within the family unit.

One of the reasons many marriages

are characterized by chaos is because

many women push and push and push

to try to get their husbands to move.

But as a kingdom woman, you’ve got

to determine if you’re in alignment

with the role God has given you.

Husbands have to answer their own

questions before God. But if Christian

marriages are going to function as

God intended, wives must operate

under their husbands’ headship and

they must affirm that they recognize

the authority God has given them.

I know many women feel

unappreciated and unrecognized for

their contributions to the home,

family, and society. But women must

have a kingdom view of what it means

to be a wife. If women adopt the view

of the culture, they open the door to

Satan who will come into the family

and bring disharmony. When God

made Eve, He did so as part of His

covenant for the outworking of His

plan in history—His kingdom agenda.

God created Adam first and then He

designed Eve because Adam was to be

responsible for the marriage. But

Adam was not to be alone. God

fashioned Eve as Adam’s helper—

someone who came alongside him

with all of her gifts, skills, and

abilities, to be recognized and

appreciated, but to be under Adam’s

legitimate authority.

Let’s explore what it means to live as a

kingdom wife.

1. WOMEN, GOD HAS A PURPOSE FOR YOU. (EPHESIANS 5:22)

King James Version (Chapter 5)

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

• Biblical submission means that a woman willingly places herself under her husband’s authority because of her submission to the Lord. • A woman has a greater obligation to the Lord than to her husband. • When a husband leaves the Lord, he loses his legitimate authority over his wife. • God’s design for marriage has nothing to do with the equality and worth of the man and the woman, but it has to do with a differentiation in their roles and responsibilities. • In the garden of Eden, Satan tempted Eve to become the leader of the marriage and got Adam to become the passive responder. When their roles got reversed, chaos and sin entered the picture.

WOMEN, GOD HAS A PURPOSE FOR YOU.

2. WIVES, REALIZE THAT GOD HAS CALLED YOU TO SUBMIT TO YOUR HUSBANDS. (1 CORINTHIANS 11:10) TLB

So a woman should wear a covering on her head as a sign that she is under man’s authority, a fact for all the angels to notice and rejoice in. 

• “Wife” is a role designed by God, not just a title.

• The wife must submit to her

husband “because of the angels.”

• Angels have the role of assisting and

supporting mankind according to

God’s will.

• When the roles in marriage get

reversed, it interferes with what God

wants to do in the marriage and it

prevents the angels from providing

their supernatural assistance.

WIVES, REALIZE THAT GOD HAS CALLED YOU TO SUBMIT TO YOUR HUSBANDS.

3. WIVES, FOLLOW SARAH’S EXAMPLE OF SUBMISSION. (1 PETER 3:6) TLB

Sarah, for instance, obeyed her husband Abraham, honoring him as head of the house. And if you do the same, you will be following in her steps like good daughters and doing what is right; then you will not need to fear offending your husbands. 

• Sarah recognized Abraham’s God-

given authority even though Abraham

didn’t always follow God or put

Sarah’s best interests first.

• God honored Sarah’s faithfulness by

blessing her with a miracle baby,

Isaac, at the age of 90 (Genesis 17:17).

• When kingdom wives place

themselves under the legitimate

authority of their husbands, they open

themselves up to God’s blessing.